How to label when you don’t want to look at labels.

Without labels, miscellany will surely creep in, rendering the most elegant of containers clutter catch-alls. But, we don’t always want big tacky labels turning our spaces into kindergarten rooms. This is why I often cut little custom labels to place on the top edge of a drawer. I’ve done it here with my client’s tall English antique chest of drawers.  One would never know that it is essentially an office storage cabinet.

I’ve also done it here in my parents’ chest of drawers just outside of the kitchen. These shallow drawers are one of a couple of their paper organizing systems. You can see that company would never suspect that these drawers function as de facto filing, but she still benefits from the labels as if it were an office, again, turning formal furniture in to “office” furniture!

This also has worked well for deep kitchen drawer and clothing drawers in closets.  It’s even worked to label the thin lip on elfa’s rolling file cart drawers. Use a label maker if you please, but I chose to either just strip a Post-It down to the sticky top edge, or use removable white artists’ tape and a Sharpie.

Where in your home or office can you benefit from these dainty, inconspicuous labels?  Please share in the comments!